


The Third Bite

by venomandchampagne (sushibunny)



Series: However Long It Takes [21]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Stefan Is A Good Friend, Still True Though, That's A Terrible Joke Forgive Me, Third Time's the Charm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-17
Updated: 2016-02-17
Packaged: 2018-05-21 06:28:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6041644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sushibunny/pseuds/venomandchampagne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Tyler overhears that Caroline slept with Klaus, their confrontation doesn't go well. He ends up biting her, again, and Caroline finds herself needing Klaus' blood to live, again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Third Bite

**Author's Note:**

> A drabble request from my tumblr- Tyler does bite Caroline in 5x12 and she has to have Klaus save her.
> 
> Originally posted on July 30th 2014.

Caroline's hand flew to her neck, her shock overwhelming the pain she felt spreading through her body. She stared at her ex-boyfriend in shock as Stefan threw him against the far wall. The blonde fell to her knees, the betrayal she felt making her legs weak just as equally as the venom that now spread through her.

"Are you alright?"

She drew her eyes away from Tyler at the sound of her best friend's voice next to her. Stefan was hovering worriedly over her, gripping her by the shoulders as he tried to gain her attention. Caroline could barely form words as she let him gently brush aside her hand, revealing the raw wound on her neck.

"He bit me," she breathed, her voice unbelieving. "Again."

Tyler had the decency to look ashamed, unable to meet her eyes as he lay where he had landed on the floor across the room, head resting awkwardly against the wall.

Caroline barely registered the curse Stefan let out, her mind racing. _Three hybrid bites in one year; must be some kind of record_ , she thought humorlessly. Though she supposed surviving one bite was something not many could claim, what with Klaus holding the only cure and all. _Klaus_.

The young vampire suddenly jerked her head to look at Stefan, immediately regretting the sudden movement. "Klaus," she blurted out, ignoring the low growl she heard from across the room. "I need Klaus. Please, Stefan."

Lips pressed together in a thin line, Stefan nodded quickly, wrapping his arms around her weakened body and lifting her into his arms. He gave Tyler one last scowl before he carried her to the door.

"Care, I'm sorry," the hybrid tried as he pulled himself off the floor, voice full of remorse.

"Don't," she hissed sharply, shooting him a glare before turning to rest her head wearily on Stefan's shoulder. "I can't even look at him," she whispered to her friend as he quickly whisked her from the room and out of the house, careful not to jostle her too much.

The full implication behind those words was not lost on Tyler as he watched the two leave, eyes full of regret. Caroline had directed those same words at Klaus when he had bitten her and it stung how the tables were now turned. He couldn't even blame this on the sire bond; it was all him this time.

And he knew from the look Stefan shot him before he left that he would be facing further consequences than just losing Caroline's friendship.

* * *

Caroline watched the street lights flit passed the window as she laid in the backseat of Stefan's car; or someone at the party's car, she wasn't sure. She thought the venom was hitting her faster than the last time, though she had lost her perception of time a while ago, the pain too distracting.

Stefan had rushed her out of the Lockwood Mansion, running into Elena on the way out. The doppelganger had looked shocked and oddly apologetic when Stefan told her what had happened. She had seemed torn between wanting to help Caroline and leaving, but Caroline attributed her strange attitude to a frustrated looking Damon who she had caught sight of lurking in the shadows. Elena had offered to help, though when she heard they were going to try and find Klaus for the cure she had quickly made an excuse to stay behind, not that Caroline could blame her. Caroline was probably the one on the best terms with the hybrid and even she wasn't ready to see him again.

She had quickly found herself in the backseat, Stefan assuring her he would get ahold of the hybrid, that she would be okay. She had given him a weak smile before he sped off, driving much faster than Caroline would have ever imagined the SUV could go.

She drifted in and out of reality as he continued to drive, not quite losing consciousness, but not being aware of her surroundings either. Every now and then she would catch sight of Stefan's concerned eyes glancing back at her in the rearview mirror, a phone constantly at his ear, curses flowing from his lips as Klaus presumably continued not to answer.

Caroline found herself wondering if being bitten so often was a good or a bad thing. Sure, it hurt and could kill her, but maybe she had built up some sort of immunity? She wasn't sure if it worked like that, she doubted anyone had ever had the chance to find out, but maybe if she survived this, and passed all her Biology courses, she could be the first.

Her thoughts soon drifted to the hybrid, their last encounter bringing a small smile to her face in her delirium. If Stefan's brow had furrowed further when he caught sight of her dreamy look and the speed of the car had increased, Caroline didn't notice.

* * *

After the hundredth or so ring Klaus finally got up, reaching for the irritating device. He had spent all day dealing with witches and vampires and their petty squabbles, was it too much to ask for a few minutes of relaxation? Apparently so, as the ever annoying ringtone he had assigned to his contacts from Mystic Falls continued to ruin his peace and quiet. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the Rippah's name on the screen, surprised to be hearing from his one-time friend. If anyone would be calling from that cursed town he assumed it would be the elder Salvatore, wanting to share some new bit of gossip for some reason or another.

Or if he let himself hope… But no, Klaus expected it would be a long time before he heard the soft tones of Brahms emanate from the cell. Resigning himself to no doubt hearing about the latest mess the ever annoying band of misfits had found themselves in, he heaved a heavy sigh before answering.

"Ah, Stefan," he greeted, smirk plastered across his face in an effort to sound less murderous than he felt. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

He could hear the vampire let out a breath of relief before he answered. "Thank God," Stefan breathed in a voice so low Klaus assumed he was talking to himself. "What the hell took you so long to answer?" he demanded, all gratefulness gone from his voice.

Klaus scowled, contemplating hanging up. "It may be hard for you to believe, Stefan, but there is a world outside of Mystic Falls. And I happen to be quite busy in it, so if you don't mind-"

"Wait!" Stefan cried, his desperate tone giving Klaus pause. "We need your help."

Klaus rolled his eyes, not at all surprised. "As much as I enjoy you and your friends begging for my assistance, I have better things to do than help you out of whatever mess you've gotten yourselves into."

"Your blood," Stefan continued in a hurried voice, ignoring Klaus' taunts. "There's been an… accident, we need your blood."

The hybrid frowned. "I might have given you the wrong impression the last time I saved your brother; namely the impression that I care," he said coldly into the phone. Honestly, would these fools never learn? "My blood is not at your beck and call-"

"It's Caroline," Stefan interrupted, causing Klaus' blood to run cold. "Tyler bit her."

"What?!" Klaus demanded, growling into the phone, which was perilously close to being crushed in his tight grip.

"Apparently he found out about your… fling. Look, I don't think we have a lot of time," Stefan said, his voice taking on a pleading edge. "She's barely conscious and I'm worried. Please, Klaus, if she ever truly meant something to you…"

"Where are you?" the hybrid ground out, already grabbing his coat as he headed out the door.

"About 20 minutes from Lynchburg airport," came the answer, surprising Klaus a little. "What? I figured flying would be fastest," Stefan added, reading into Klaus' silence.

Klaus smiled grimly as he got in his car, headed to the New Orleans airport at a less than legal speed. "Charter a plane for Atlanta," he said crisply as he tried to focus on anything but Caroline. "I'll meet you there. Do not wait for a commercial flight, Stefan, I don't care if you have to kill anyone, you get on a plane immediately," he barked, anticipating some moral crisis from the vampire which would take precious time away from Caroline.

"We'll be there in three hours," Stefan assured him before hanging up, leaving Klaus alone with his thoughts as he raced to meet them in Atlanta.

And all of them were of her.

* * *

Klaus paced along the tarmac, impatiently waiting for the plane that carried Stefan and hopefully a still breathing Caroline. Stefan had texted him the plane's information and it had only taken a little compulsion to determine where the plane would be landing, and Klaus was not about to waste time waiting inside the airport.

Finally he spotted the red lights of the small plane as it came in for landing. The hybrid remained where he was, unflinching as the plane came to a stop a few feet from him. Klaus almost ripped the door off its hinges in his hurry to get to her, his face openly worried as he hurried onto the plane.

There she was, buckled into a leather seat, head lolled to the side revealing the angry red wound. Klaus pushed down the sense of rage he felt flood through him, knowing he had to remain calm and help her before he could exact any kind of revenge on the foolish young hybrid.

He gave Stefan a brief nod before he took the seat next to the blonde, unbuckling her seatbelt and gently pulling her back against his chest, the position disconcertingly familiar by now. He barely noticed Stefan leave them to compel the pilot, focusing instead on the blonde he had so desperately wished to have in his arms once again, though not like this. Never again like this.

Klaus was relieved when she gave a little groan in protest at being moved, her eyes flickering open, trying to focus.

"Klaus?" she rasped, her voice barely a whisper.

"I'm here, love, shh," he soothed, circling his arms around her as he pulled down his sleeve. "It's alright now."

Caroline gave a tiny whimper as he brought his wrist to his mouth, biting down before offering it to her. She was too weak to grasp his arm, her hands barely rising off of her legs before they fell down again, causing Klaus to frown deeply. They had almost been too late, he had almost lost her. Again.

His eyes closed in relief when she finally began drinking from him, her fangs eventually piercing his skin as she regained her strength. He felt the familiar flow of euphoria as she drank from him, though as always it was inhibited by a feeling of remorse, something he almost always only felt in regards to Caroline.

Klaus' apprehension was fully washed away when her hands softly grabbed onto his own, holding his wrist to her mouth, allowing her to feed more deeply. He found himself running his hands through her hair, soothing her as she drank her fill.

With a small moan Caroline finally pulled away, allowing herself to fully lean back against Klaus, much to his pleasure.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" he asked softly, continuing to stroke her hair for as long as she would allow him to.

"Yes," she said softly, her voice betraying how exhausted she really was. "Thank you," she whispered, tilting her head back to look at him, blue eyes shining with new life.

"Of course," he said, giving her a small grin. Before he could stop himself, he leaned down and placed a soft kiss to the top of her head, whispering into her hair, "Anything for you, Caroline."

She felt a shiver go through her at his words, knowing in her heart they were true. Before she could reply, however, Stefan cleared his throat, letting them know he had rejoined them from the cockpit.

"You okay?" he asked gently, coming to stand next to her, still looking worried.

"Thanks to you," she said, giving him the largest smile she could muster, reaching out to take his hand. Caroline gave it a reassuring squeeze, pleased when her friend returned it, giving her a soft smile. "And you," she added, looking back at Klaus, rolling her eyes at his smirk.

"What do you want to do now, Caroline?" Stefan asked her, looking around the plane. "I can have them take us back home. Or we could get a room for you to rest for the night."

Caroline noticed Klaus stiffen behind her at the mention of them leaving already and she had to admit she shared his enthusiasm for going home. She didn't really want to be back there around everyone who would no doubt plague her with questions of how she was, if they even bothered of course. And she especially didn't want to see Tyler, if he had even stuck around this time.

"I think I'd like to sleep in an actual bed," she said, all amusement gone from her voice as she realized how tired she actually was. "Where are we anyway?" she wondered as she unconsciously nestled back against Klaus as she sought a more comfortable position.

"Atlanta," Klaus answered, doing his best to keep the huge grin from his face at Caroline's apparent comfort at being in his arms. "Have you ever been?"

"No," she muttered, eyes drooping as she fought to stay awake.

"Perhaps I could show you and Stefan around?" he offered tentatively, hoping she wouldn't turn him down.

It took a long few moments before she answered, opening one eye to look at Stefan in question. At his smile and nod she finally answered. "I guess if you're going to have a tour guide, you might as well have one who's a billion," she yawned before dropping her head against Klaus' shoulder, letting sleep overcome her.

The hybrid chuckled, gently lifting her into his arms and moving to follow Stefan out of the plane. Atlanta wasn't his first choice of places he wanted to show her, but he figured they had to start somewhere. He had eternity to show her the rest of the world, after all.


End file.
